Although I could live without her testing boundaries, I love Abby at this age. She’s old enough to have some fun with the big kids and still small enough to carry home when she passes out.
We gave her a run for her money yesterday.
Swimming and slip ‘n slides almost made her collapse before the fireworks, but the slurpees and sugar helped her make it until the very end!
I opened up the photos from the other day and immediately landed on this one.
Since she has recently turned into a fish/mermaid and insists on swimming underwater, this makes me think she may be feeling a little suffocated on dry land.
I get that. It’s stinking hot around here and I’d rather stay in the pool too.
I’ve been grading papers nonstop all week. I miss my husband and my kid and my camera and food and friends and books.
With two more days of craziness to go, I thought I was going to lose my mind. So I took Abby out for a few pictures.
And while I have no time to even look through all the pictures now, I really needed to post something to this blog that doesn’t reflect my addiction to reality television.
No, I haven’t run out of things to say or photos to share. We’ve been out of town.
Austin was calling our name so we went and spent some time with Matt’s family. Their beautiful pool was completed the night before we arrived. Coincidence? Nope.
Abby could not get enough of swimming and playing with her cousins. She loves them so much that she was willing to wear water wing floaties in the pool and swim underwater if they asked her to.
She was doing great- paddling, kicking, blowing bubbles, and going underwater. The only problem is that she can’t seem to stop talking and close her mouth when she’s swimming. I’m guessing that comes from my side of the family.
She had so much fun that she only slept from 11:30pm to 7:00am. Except for the late bedtime, it was a welcome break for us. Who knew that 8 and 5 year old girls made such great babysitters?
Since the kiddo was so happy that she didn’t want anything to do with us, we headed out to San Marcos in search of a river to float in and someone to play frisbee with. Not anyone though, we were looking for a town legend. A guy in short shorts with a wicked wrist flick by the name of Frisbee Dan. He was there. And he was ready to play.
That part of Texas is in a crazy drought. The river was so low that tubing wasn’t possible in areas and plants that you shouldn’t be able to touch were skimming the surface.
But we found a deep enough area and jumped into the natural ice bath. The water was crazy cold but it felt nice… once my whole body went numb.
And no matter how low the water level, it was beautiful.
We really do love that area of the state. If it weren’t for the stupid traffic in Austin, and everything we adore about Denton, we would consider moving.
In the last post I admitted we make our munchkin do a little yard work from time to time.
Did I mention that we also make her work in the kitchen? No? Well, we do.
She loves the kitchen. She loves to measure and mix. So we let her.
And luckily for her, all I ever want to make are baked goods.
This morning I woke up with an unbelievable desire for brownies and one of Granny’s day-after-Thanksgiving-turkey sandwiches.
I thought that Granny (as cool and amazing as she is) might not be in the mood to cook a turkey and then let it cool and then put it on white bread with mayo and mustard and bring it to me with a glass of milk and one of her homegrown dill pickles, so I concentrated on the brownie issue.
Brownies with cookie dough on top were the perfect answer.
Lucky for Abby.
And yes. Yes, she is wearing her pajamas. I told you I woke up wanting this food. There’s no need to wait when you already know what you want!
The kiddo had a modeling appointment this morning (pajama’s this time) in downtown Dallas.
This studio is by far my favorite in terms of aesthetics. The loft has unbelievable views of the city as well as beautiful hard wood floors and huge windows.
And I love that there’s nothing in it. There’s a kitchen (because everyone needs snacks) and then a whole lot of empty space.
I’ve never had a desire to live in the middle of a city, but I dream of being left alone in this place. Just to dance and read and sleep.
Yesterday Matt and I went and helped clean up the neighborhood middle school with our church. I much prefer to work with my hands when someone is in need (which is why I loved my Habitat for Humanity trip so much) and this was the perfect opportunity. We worked side by side with some old friends, met new people from the church and the community, and enjoyed sweating it out together. The Village Church will be hosting two more Saturdays at three different schools so if you’re interested in getting involved- let me know!
After getting cleaned up, we went out to a fancy dinner with Keri and Brian. When I say fancy, I mean fancy schmancy. Over the top, unbelievably, crazy fancy.
We had the chance to go eat at Fearing’s Restaraunt in the Dallas Ritz Carlton Hotel and I’m so glad we did.
Not only did we get to dress up in nice clothes and have adult conversations without worrying about kids, but we were also able to have the most amazing meal of our lives.
It was so good it could have been a last supper. In fact, if anyone ever makes the mistake of asking for my last supper choice- tell them this is what I want.
We sat in the chef’s room of the restaurant which allowed us to meet Dean Fearing himself. And since we couldn’t pick a meal off the menu- they all sounded great- he suggested a chef sampler.
Basically the chefs put together a seven course dinner of some of the restaurant’s best foods.
Being a lover of Top Chef, I was in heaven.
Being an ordinary housewife, I can’t even pronounce half the things I ate.
What I can tell you is the main ingredient of each course. It began with a sweet corn amuse bouche (very fun words to say) that was somehow both sweet and incredibly spicy. Then after that there was a yellow fin tuna ceviche, a lobster coconut bisque with a lobster wonton, a spicy shrimp taco, scallops and short ribs, a buffalo tenderloin, and a cheese plate with the most delicious piece of honeycomb on it.
I have never eaten yellow fin tuna, scallops, or buffalo so it was a night of firsts. Surprisingly enough, the tuna and the lobster bisque were my favorites. I’ve never been a sushi person but if there really is sushi that tastes like that tuna did, count me in.
To make the blessings even more bountiful, each course was served with a wine ideally suited to the flavor of the food. It was crazy to see all the different glasses that are used for each wine. I’m not much of a wine drinker (I’m not much of a drinker at all) so I appointed myself the designated driver, but even I will admit there were some amazing things happening in those glasses. Especially one white wine (a La Petiti something) that smelled so good I would like to ask for all the corks to be sent my way for my sniffing pleasure!
And because the night was truly unbelievable, we finished it off with four desserts that were amazing- a chocolate ice cream crunch cake (with rice crispies!), a sorbet trio with almond streussel cake, a butterscotch custard, and a spectacular strawberry shortcake.
And because fancy doesn’t end when you walk out the door, they sent us home with a little box full of delicious cookie bites. Waking up to this tiny box made my morning.
It was a meal that I will dream about for years to come.
Things have been crazy for the past two days. And they’re going to keep being crazy for the next two.
Thursday I was hanging out around this train (yeah, that’s something I do) and I thought about how many stories I love have had a train as a character. From my little days- The Boxcar Children Series, from my adulthood- Water For Elephants.
I kind of wish I could have a traincar in my backyard when I grow up. It would make the coolest hangout ever.
And then last night the sky went crazy. This is what it looks like when a giant storm meets a beautiful sunset. (Sorry the quality stinks- but I took the pic with my phone!)
It all worked out okay. The sunset won.
For some reason Matt decided to dress Abby in one of his shirts instead of actual pjs last night. I didn’t mind a bit because there’s something about a little girl wearing a grown man’s shirt that makes me smile.
I remember using my grandfather’s shirts as nightgowns when I was little, and then later using my brother’s shirts when he left for school, and even though I was nowhere near “little” I spent a good bit of time in Matt’s shirts when I was pregnant.
They’re comfortable. They’re soft. They’re security clothes instead of blankets. Plus she looks adorable in them.
If she never wants to sleep in anything else, I’ll understand.
Another sweet thing is this house. It’s my Denton dream house. It’s big and old and beautiful and it lives on Oak Street.
It also happens to be for sale- you know, just in case you were trying to think of a really awesome anniversary present for us!
Soaking up water and squeezing it out managed to keep Abby occupied for over an hour tonight. Definitely worth the $1.
